Symptoms of dysphagia in children with cleft lip and/or palate pre- and post-surgical correction.

PURPOSE: Determine the occurrence of dysphagia symptoms in children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) pre- and post-surgical correction.

METHODS

Quantitative observational cross-sectional study. Existence of clef lip and/or palate without association with other syndromes was the study inclusion and/or exclusion criterion. Parents and/or legal guardians responded to a recall questionnaire on the identification of occurrence of coughing, choking, vomiting, and nasal escape pre- and postoperatively and whether these symptoms disappeared after surgical correction. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the aforementioned Institution under protocol no. 1573164.

RESULTS

The sample comprised 23 children with mean age of 48 months, mostly male and with unilateral trans-foramen incisor clefts. Statistically significant difference was observed between the pre- and post-surgical periods regarding the presence of dysphagia symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Surgical treatment of patients with cleft lip and/or palate proved to be a resource to prevent the occurrence of dysphagia symptoms when associated with adequate intervention chronology.